Trade-cum-FDI, Human Capital Inequality and Regional Disparities in China: the Singer Perspective

This paper explores the causes of regional disparities in China in the light of the Singer Hypotheses. The impact of inter-regional economic relationships and trade-cum-FDI on regional income inequality and the transmission mechanisms are investigated. The interactions between economic structure, trade-cum-FDI, human capital inequality and regional income gap, and the role of the fiscal and financial systems are analysed in the regional development context. It finds that the centre-periphery type of economic relationship between the coastal and the inland regions and the trade-cum-FDI in the coastal regions have all contributed to the regional income inequalities in China. Increasing human capital inequality is one of the major transmission mechanisms. Policy implications are discussed, emphasizing the role of the state, human capital and openness.